Connector Cable for Sony Walkmen TCD-D100- to -TCD-D3??

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Angelo Campanella - 27 Feb 2006 22:47 GMT

I have some personally recorded data on DAT tape (outdoor sounds) that I
want to copy onto another digital tape. That recorded data stream
includes (per the TCD-D100) the real time of recording, which is great
for data reduction.

I see that both my DCD-D100 and my DCD-D3 have a miniature 7-pin port
labeled "Remote Digital I/O" which sure sounds like the required
transfer mode, in need of a proper connecting cable.

I called US Sony parts and Support, and they don't seem to be able to
come up with the required cable. The older DCD-D3 came with an output
cable for that port, but it terminates with two optical tips, and I have
nothing that interfaces that. I suppose another of the same might do,
but one wonders about the protocol in that case.

Has anyone here had experience with such data transfer cables?

Angelo Campanella

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Scott Dorsey - 28 Feb 2006 00:11 GMT

>I see that both my DCD-D100 and my DCD-D3 have a miniature 7-pin port
>labeled "Remote Digital I/O" which sure sounds like the required
>transfer mode, in need of a proper connecting cable.

God, I hate these things. Sony went out of their way to make these
as nonstandard as possible.

>I called US Sony parts and Support, and they don't seem to be able to
>come up with the required cable. The older DCD-D3 came with an output
>cable for that port, but it terminates with two optical tips, and I have
>nothing that interfaces that. I suppose another of the same might do,
>but one wonders about the protocol in that case.

The optical tips are standard S-PDIF and will interface with any piece of
gear that does S-PDIF.

What you want is to either borrow a DAT machine with a standard S-PDIF
interface, or another cable like the one you have. If anybody has the
latter, it will be the Oade Brothers. They cater to the taper market
where those machines were very popular, and they made a number of interface
devices for them.
--scott

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"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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Angelo Campanella - 28 Feb 2006 03:02 GMT

> What you want is to either borrow a DAT machine with a standard S-PDIF
> interface, or another cable like the one you have. If anybody has the
> latter, it will be the Oade Brothers.

I looked at the Oade web site. Phone closed at this hour. Sent message.
Looked further at DAT manuals. The D3 manual says the optical cable
part# is POC-DA12. The D100 manual says the optical part# is POC-DA12P,
or 12MP, or 12SP. Called Sony help again. They don't stock it any more.
Agent says that the after-market may have it, suggested Broadcast
Store.com.

I will look further.

A neat feature on the D100 is the true recorded time.
Hoping that the D3 can receive and register same... maybe.

Else I have to make an analog cassette copy. I'll have to replace the
clock ID with dubbed verbal comments, I guess.

Thanks,
Ang. C.

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Malcolm Hayes - 28 Feb 2006 13:02 GMT

>> What you want is to either borrow a DAT machine with a standard S-PDIF
>> interface, or another cable like the one you have. If anybody has the
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> Thanks,
> Ang. C.

When we have copied digital data between DAT tapes we have lost the time
stamp. We end up setting the recording machine to have the time that the
original was made and starting the original at the time shown on the copy
tape recorder. Best we could come up with on top of a mountain in the field.

Cheers

MalcolmX

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Angelo Campanella - 01 Mar 2006 02:32 GMT

> When we have copied digital data between DAT tapes we have lost the time
> stamp. We end up setting the recording machine to have the time that the
> original was made and starting the original at the time shown on the copy
> tape recorder. Best we could come up with on top of a mountain in the field.

Thanks for the heads up... I'll keep on looking for a 7-pin cable. But
it looks like the voltabe incomaptibility will make life difficult...

I found the following cable information from

http://www.core-sound.com/7-pin-bible.html

///////quote from core-sound\\\\\\\\\

The Sony TCD-D3 was the first of the Sony portable DAT decks to use the
7-pin I/O connector. It used much higher voltage levels (roughly 5.2
Volts) than the S/PDIF standard's .5 Volts. Sony provided two interface
cables: the RK-DA10 which was an "active" (voltage level translating)
cable to allow the -D3 to accept the lower S/PDIF-standard voltages; and
the POC-DA12 cable with Toslink (fiber optic) input and output.

The next generation TCD-D7 and its successor, the TCD-D8 (solving most
of the -D7's transport problems), used slightly lower voltage levels:
around 4 Volts. The same two cables worked fine with them.

The next generation is the current one: the TCD-D100 and the pro
(SCMS-free) PCM-M1. It uses a still lower voltage: 3.5 Volts. The old
cables won't work on this voltage so Sony issued new ones: the RK-DA10P
for coaxial (RCA) input, with a gray casing instead the older RK-DA10's
black one; and a variety of POC-DA12x cables, each having a different
suffix:

* POC-DA12P is 7-pin to optical Toslink digital in/out
* POC-DA12MP is 7-pin to optical Miniplug in/Toslink out
* POC-DA12SP is 7-pin to optical Miniplug in/out

Daisychaining
What about daisy chains at shows?

If you are in a daisy chain consisting only of DATmen, if you have the
correct active input cable for your deck, then you can reliably accept
signals from any of the other DATmen.

If you are using a passive input cable, remember that only older
generation decks or ones of your deck's generation will reliably feed
your deck; you probably won't be able to accept a feed from a deck of a
later generation. So, if you have a -D3, you can accept a feed from
another -D3. If you have a -D7 or a -D8, you can accept a feed from a
-D3, a -D7 or a -D8. If you have a -D100 or an -M1, you can accept a
feed from any machine. (This is the origin of folks wanting some
machines to be at the tail of the chain and others at the head.)

For mixed active/passive chains, remember that all cables are passive on
output, so even folks with so-called "passive" cables can feed all
active cables with no problem. For example, you can have an -M1 with a
passive cable at the head of a chain, feeding a -D3 with an active
cable. That -D3 can then feed a passive -M1 or any other combination of
decks and cables.

Remember that if you have a TCD-D100 or PCM-M1, and you need an active
input cable, you must buy a cable based on the RK-DA10P with the gray
housing; the older RK-DA10 with the black casing may or may not work.

/////////////////////end quote\\\\\\\\\\\\

Ang. C.

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Natural Science Forum / Physics / Acoustics / March 2006

Connector Cable for Sony Walkmen TCD-D100- to -TCD-D3??